Uzumaki Chronicles: Hyuuga's Edge
by Rurouni Tyriel
Summary: Someone has stolen invaluable artifacts from the Hyuuga compound. A team is quickly dispatched to overtake them, but can three Genin overcome a dangerous shinobi criminal before they reach Hidden Cloud?
1. Theft

**Disclaimer: **

I don't own Naruto, they belong to Kishimoto. I wish I owned Naruto though, or at least had permission to write for the filler arcs. Then I could get this story animated. Credit is due to Bardsocko for inspiring some elements of the story.

**Summary: **

Someone has stolen invaluable artifacts from the Hyuuga compound. A team is quickly dispatched to overtake them, but can three Genin overcome a dangerous shinobi criminal before they reach Hidden Cloud? Worse, can Neji survive the temptation to destroy everything dear to him? Takes place sometime after the recent Konoha Eleven Filler Arc (and thus, anytime during the Filler Arcs) and before the Timeskip. Rated PG-13 for action violence and some light cursing.

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Winter had come early to the village of Konoha, and it had hit hard and fast as any taijutsu move. Though snow had, thankfully, avoided the small ninja settlement (an uncommon occurrence this early in the year, and this far south) the early evening air was frigid cold and the ground was slick with moisture. Not quite freezing, but dangerously close. Shinobi going or returning on early evening missions had to be extra careful where they landed in order to avoid mishap. Most non-shinobi were more content to stay bundled up inside, and even more than a few without missions disregarded training in favor of the blessed warmth of an open fire in their nice, warm apartments and homes.

Not-so-lucky were the students of Maito Gai.

A man gifted (though few others saw it as this) as seeing an obstacle as an opportunity, Maito Gai had requested his students be found for early evening conditioning exercises. They would battle and train in the freezing cold night, endure the icy winds and frigid temperatures, and emerge the stronger and tougher from it. The Springtime of Youth would allow them to overcome it. It had taken Tsunade herself to convince him (thanks to the pleas of Neji and Tenten) to at least hold their training sessions indoors, lest she wind up with three or four more patients suffering from pneumonia in her hospital.

So it was that Maito Gai found himself in the dojo of his beloved and most dear student, Rock Lee. Typical of their zeal, the two had come even earlier than their teammates to begin the afternoon with some light sparring. Now, the sun was just starting to set on the horizon, and Lee departed to find his teammates and bring them back.

"Ahhh," said Gai with a tear in his eye, watching his favorite student bound off into the foggy evening. "The Springtime of Youth is such a beautiful time..." he stated, then began to weep openly.

Any passerbys politely averted their gaze and kept on walking... perhaps a bit faster than before.

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Unable to find his teammate Tenten at her own dwelling, Lee turned his steps towards the grand Hyuuga complex to find his longtime rival Neji. Located on the far Eastern side of Konoha, the Hyuuga Clan owned it's own district, a small testimony to their wealth and influence in the Hidden Leaf Village. Not terribly surprising given their status as one of the first Clans to settle in Konoha. It was a walled off complex easily as big as some housing districts, all of them linked together.

"I do hope Neji is up and ready to begin training," stated Lee as he walked along. "Perhaps he is training with Hiashi-sama. Oooh, Neji, you are indeed a worthy opponent... so dedicated!"

Lee felt himself on the verge of crying as well at the thought.

He might've been much more disappointed to know that, Neji had finished an early dinner and left earlier to go out and collect his own teammates. At the moment, he and Tenten were making their way to Lee's dojo to meet up with their over-enthusiastic taijutsu sensei.

Unaware of this, Lee made his way into the compound, pushing open one of the nearby doors.

The courtyard of the Main House was, as usual, immaculate. Perfectly clean, not a dead leaf or plant in sight, everything was lovingly maintained by the Hyuuga caretakers (mostly Branch family, he recalled). The pond was frozen over, and the grass was damp with dew, but otherwise it was in perfectly pristine condition. A reflection, unfortunately, of the Hyuuga's themselves, though Lee would never say so aloud. They demanded nothing less than total perfection, everything was ordered and maintained, and anything they had no use of, like a bad weed, was removed.

Something was odd, Lee realized as he strolled inside.

It was deathly quiet. Normally, there should've been a little activity within the Hyuuga complex. A few of the Branch family up and about preparing for the evening meal. Or guards set up along the perimeter to protect the Main family and thus, the precious secret of the Clan, the _Byakugan_. But there was nothing. Not even a whisper in the wind.

Lee became alert instantly. He'd learned long ago never to ignore his instincts when they told him danger was near.

And he became doubly so when he found one of the Hyuuga's. One of their night-time guards, slumped over, unconscious. Lee leapt over, quick and silent as a shadow, pressing his fingers to the man's neck to find a pulse. Finding it strong, Lee concluded he was asleep. He found two more in similar condition. Unable to believe all of them fell asleep on duty simultaneously from exhaustion alone, the conclusion was obvious.

A sleeping jutsu.

Then he finally heard a noise. It was faint, like the sound of cloth rubbing against tile. A footstep on the roof. Very faint, almost unnoticeable, but Lee heard it. So he leapt upwards, grabbing the roof's edge with his hand and deftly flipped up atop of it.

There!

There was the intruder. No mistaking it.

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That very same evening, for entirely different reasons, Uzumaki Naruto, member of team seven, student of Jiraiya, and self-proclaimed future Hokage of Konoha, found himself making his way to the Hyuuga complex as well. It wasn't all that cold out for Naruto, though he couldn't quite say why.

Why was he visiting? Therein lies a tale.

Naruto's training had been becoming more and more intense lately as he prepared for his eventual conflict with the Sound to retrieve Sasuke. But with Jiraiya away to track the Akatsuki and Kakashi busy with A and S-rank missions, Naruto was finding it increasingly difficult to train under supervision. Thus, on occasion he wasn't careful about what he did to train, testing out a new technique on the spot, and often got injured as a result. So he'd become something of an in-and-out patient at the hospital, even though his wounds tended to heal quickly.

During his last trip, during his discharge, he'd remarked to Sakura that he'd received a few extra coupons for special, triple-flavor ramen at Ichiraku's, and wondered if she'd liked to join him for dinner. Unfortunately, she'd had to decline, she was tending to Ino at the time, who'd received a nasty cut across her nose from her last mission. However, both girls had then suggested an alternative to Naruto.

Ask Hinata to join him.

They'd both been surprisingly insistent (downright demanding), which continued to puzzle him even as he made his way to the main gates to the Hyuuga compound.

"Why Hinata?" he wondered aloud, holding up his coupons as if they held the answer. "Does she not get good food with Hyuuga dinners? Yeah, that must be it. Well, she'll really like these... no food in the world beat Ichiraku's Ram-... " he came to abrupt stop as Lee came crashing down onto the ground, narrowly missing Naruto as he slammed into the courtyard before him.

"What the...?!"

"Intruder," grunted Lee, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet, hardly even fazed by his impromptu flight. Naruto, his dinner forgotten as he tossed aside his coupons, readied himself as well as he glanced up and got a good look at the intruder in the rising moonlight.

It was a tallish fellow, his height further emphasized by the long, silver spikes of his hair, in a stylish reminiscent of Kakashi. Beneath them, two pale green eyes peered out at the two of them from a swath of blue war-paint. He was dressed in a black shirt and blue leggings trimmed in dark fur, and two swords (one long, one short) were strapped to his back, within easy reach. Normal ninja sandals had been replaced by heavy boots, also trimmed in fur. A long, waving headband was wrapped around his head, the metal plate on his forehead bearing three small dots that Naruto recognized as the crest of the Village Hidden in the Snow.

What the hell was Hidden Snow doing this far south? wondered Naruto. For that matter, what the hell was Hidden Snow doing anywhere? They should've all been disbanded after that incident up north with Princess Koyuki and their leader.

As he watched, the intruder slipped something into a satchel hanging at his side, though Naruto couldn't get a good look at it. It was too big to be a weapon. An item? Something stolen? Was this a thief?

"What happened to the guards?" shouted Naruto, as Lee and he leapt up to the rooftop to attack.

"Some sort of sleeping jutsu!" replied Lee, launching himself forward, feet first. "_Konoha Seppuu_!"

Lee's sweeping kick, however, was blocked by the intruder, who threw up an arm to counter it, then retaliated with a powerful blow to the slender boy's midsection, knocking him backwards onto the rooftop. Naruto, moving in quickly, eager to keep their foe off-balance, instead found himself off-balance and stepped on a particularly icy patch of roof tiles, slipping backwards and tumbling to the ground, very narrowly avoiding landing on his head.

"Owww..."

The intruder grinned, hands moving rapidly to form seals, as Lee leapt backwards to land on the roof's edge, bracing himself for whatever attack came. Whatever it was, he was sure he was ready for it. To block or dodge aside as was necessary.

He was wrong.

"_Hyourou no jutsu_!" called out the intruder, slamming his hand down on the rooftop. A blast of ice emerged from his fingertips and slid with astonishing speed along the tiles to catch Rock Lee, and then engulf him completely in it's icy grip. He barely had time to scream before his voice was frozen clean in his throat.

The intruder chuckled. "Love to stay and chat but I've merchandise to be sellin'... ta-ta for now," he said with a wave, holding his satchel close with his other hand. With great dexterity, he executed a graceful backflip off of the rooftop and out of the Hyuuga's complex. Within moments he was running full-tilt towards the East gate.

Naruto, seeing him escaping, loudly cursed and ran out of the courtyard to the main gate, bumping into Gai, Neji and Tenten as they came running in. Neji and Naruto, having both been in a hurry, slammed into one another and went crashing down into a small pile, before Neji irritably pulled himself to his feet, offering Naruto a hand.

"What's happening?!" asked Neji irritably, having heard the fight moments before they'd arrived.

Naruto climbed to his feet, accepting Neji's hand. "Someone broke into the Hyuuga place, I think they stole something," said Naruto. "They ran that way! And Lee's hurt, they used some kinda freaky jutsu on him!"

"Go after them," Gai instructed his students, turning back to the courtyard. "I will see to the Hyuuga's and Lee. Don't let that dishonorable thief escape..! Pound on him with the fists of justice!" he cried, even as he charged into the courtyard to save his charge.

"Understood," replied Neji. As one, he, Tenten, and Naruto took off and raced towards the gates. By the time they arrived they found Kotetsu, the gateguard for tonight... also flash-frozen in a solid block of ice. Whoever the intruder was, they were good. Especially if they could take on a highly skilled, chuunin-ranked individual in seemingly no time at all.

Then again, maybe they were just lucky. They'd taken Kotetsu by surprise and were running away, after all. Maybe it was just a lucky thief with some good tricks up his sleeve and little in the way of real power.

Or maybe not.

None-the-less, they had a duty to give immediate pursuit and hope that back up was on it's way. With little prompting the mix-matched team raced out of Konoha and after their thief.

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**Author's Notes: **

Snow Country and it's Snow Ninja were introduced in the first Naruto movie (and were enjoyable, for filler characters). I'll cover the relationship with the individual here shortly. And also, Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy this, my gift, to all of you.


	2. Hyuuga Concerns

Granddaughter of the First Hokage, presently Fifth Hokage, Legendary Sucker and arguably one of the most gifted Medical-Nin in all of the world, Tsunade... was having a very, very bad day.

Oh it had started out pleasant enough. With the bad weather ninja missions had been far and few between, even most of their clients were keeping indoors and off the roads these days, hoping for sunlight to come back before they shipped out their wares or made their travels. Thus, her paperwork had been light, and her duties relaxed. She'd even had some time this afternoon to enjoy a nice, relaxing soak in the hot spring, bottle of sake in one hand, dice in the other, playing some small chance games with her close friend Shizune. Who, for once, didn't mind that they weren't working.

She was, after all, winning more often than not.

The pleasant pastime came to an unfortunate end, however, when Izumo came bursting in with reports of an invasion into the very heart of Konoha. Rolling her eyes, her good mood completely destroyed, Tsunade didn't even both to wait until he'd left before she hauled herself up out of the springs and down the corridor to change. Shizune had been forced to give Izumo some healing jutsus just to restore blood circulation to his brain. And stop his nosebleed.

Now, tired, grumpy, her joyful buzz thoroughly ruined, Tsunade sat at her desk and listened to Sakura's report.

"... and Lee's okay, we got him plenty of blankets and were making sure to keep him warm. Oh, and we tied him down with ninja rope to make sure he doesn't go in pursuit of his teammates," added Sakura with a smirk. "Gai is watching over him. The Hyuuga's are all fine, just drowsy... the worst of that is gone though. In fact Lord Hiashi..."

The doors slammed open, and the aforementioned Lord of the Hyuuga Clan, Hyuuga Hiashi, marched into the room, followed quickly by two small Hyuuga girls... Hinata and Hanabi. Both of them remained respectively quiet as their father marched up and slammed his hands down on Tsunade's desk. She looked up at him with weary eyes and a frown. If he was hoping to impress her with his station, she wasn't interested.

"Hokage-sama," he stated, his words respectful, if his tone wasn't. "I must request -immediately- that you withdraw the team being sent after the thief. The property he stole was Hyuuga property. This is a Hyuuga matter, and does not concern..."

She cut him off with a look. "This thief has already attacked and harmed those outside of the Hyuuga Clan," she reminded him. Lee and Koketsu, who had both nearly been flash frozen before they could be taken to the hospitals and properly thawed out. "My decision stands. The team already in pursuit of the thief will be enough to bring him in. I have confidence in their abilities."

"It is not their abilities that concern me, Hokage-sama," Hiashi stated. "The items in question stolen were not merely valuable, they are irreplaceable, and vital to the survival of the Hyuuga Clan. I strongly urge you to withdraw your team. I can assemble some Main House Hyuuga's to go after the thief. He can't have gone far."

"And just what -are- these items?" asked Tsunade pointedly. Their nature hadn't been covered in the reports, for all she knew the thief had snatched up Hinata's collection of pressed flowers or Neji's combs.

Hiashi looked distinctly uncomfortable at this, glancing over at Sakura.

"It is a Hyuuga matter," he stated.

"I keep no secrets from my apprentice," replied Tsunade boldly, her lethargy vanishing, replaced by anger. "You can either tell us both or you can leave my office and let us do our job."

Hiashi glowered, his eyes burning white, but he was cowed by the Legendary Sannin before him. Behind her mentor, Sakura was outwardly cool, having been prepared to depart if it was necessary. Inside, however, her inner Sakura was overjoyed she'd be allowed to stay. Eventually, with a great sigh, Hiashi admitted defeat.

"It is the Hyuuga Scroll of Sealing," he said finally.

Tsunade blinked in outright surprise, her breath catching in her throat.

Beside her, Sakura merely looked puzzled. "The Hyuuga Scroll of Sealing?"

"It's an old relic," interjected Hanabi. "It contains the Hyuuga's unique jutsu and secrets from before the Great Ninja War. Among them..."

"Hanabi!"

Hanabi fell silent as Hiashi glared back at her. He did not say as much aloud, but his eyes spoke volumes. She was telling too much. "Suffice to say, the scroll is almost as good as having a live Hyuuga to study. With it, our secrets are laid bare before the world."

"You think Hidden Cloud is behind this?" asked Tsunade. Though she'd been away, she'd seen the Third Hokage's records on the incident. Behind them, Hinata gave a shiver, well-remembering the event. The one where she'd nearly been kidnapped and her uncle had died to protect their family.

"The intruder ran east," stated Sakura. "Lightning Country -is- in that general direction. And ever since Hidden Snow broke up in the north a lot of it's shinobi went rogue, selling out their services to feudal lords or smaller villages. A lot of them outright defected into new ones and took their symbols as their own."

"Even if it isn't Hidden Cloud, anyone who had that scroll is a danger to our family," stated Hiashi, again slamming his hand down on Tsunade's desk for emphasis. "You have to allow me to send Main Family after it."

"Why Main Family?"

Hiashi opened his mouth to speak, but Hinata beat him too it. "One of the jutsus inscribed on the scroll is the secret to activating the curse seal," she said quietly, but boldly. Hiashi again leveled his white-eyed glare onto one of his daughters, but to his vast surprise, Hinata did not back down. "All Main family are taught it to keep the Branch family in-line if they should decide to attack us. I learned it when I was six... after my uncle died. Although I've never used it," she added.

Tsunade sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on, and interlaced her fingers, thinking deeply.

"I take it then you think this thief... whomever they represent... will take advantage of the scroll?"

"Neji will not be able to stop them," said Hiashi. "I admire the talents of my nephew as much as anyone, but he will be no match for this thief so long as they hold that Scroll. If they uncover it's secrets, then he is already dead. And Tenten and Naruto have no chance to best him alone."

"They will have to," said Tsunade. "I have taken your... advice... into consideration. My decision stands. Naruto, Tenten, and Neji... will recover your stolen Scroll and the relics, and return them. No others are to leave on this mission. Most of our jounin and chuunin are already out on missions. We can't afford to spread our forces too thin."

"Hokage-sama!" Hiashi stated loudly.

Her eyes narrowed, and he was nearly blown away by the intensity. "Do I make myself clear?" She did not shout, she did not need to. Her tone and expression was enough.

Stunned, outraged, Hiashi could barely sputter some vague angry retort before he turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, not even waiting for his daughters. With him gone, Tsunade breathed a small sigh of relief. One mess dealt with.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" asked Sakura. "About the Scroll?"

"Nothing we can tell you," replied Hinata quietly. "Hiashi-sama is correct, it is one of our closely guarded secrets, handed down to the heads of the clan for generations."

Tsunade allowed herself a small smile. "Don't worry... I have a lot more confidence in Neji than that... even with this curse seal trouble he'll figure out something. He is a genius, after all."

Hinata and Hanabi smiled at that, both having thought pretty much the same thing.

"Something else you should know..." said Hanabi. "The Scroll wasn't the only thing taken, though it was the most valuable..."

"What else?" asked Sakura, ready to add to the report on the desk in front of her.

"Two swords were stolen as well. Relics from the Great Ninja War... heirlooms of the Hyuuga family. Very valuable."

"We'll do our best to recover those as well," said Sakura. "I think that's everything."

"Then there's nothing left to do but wait," remarked Tsunade, who stood from her chair and made her way to the window, watching the horizon. "Oh... it's snowing."

Outside, small flurries of pale white snow began to drift down from the dark skies above, falling lightly over the now-sleeping Hidden Leaf Village. It promised troubles for the team that had been sent out after the thief. It spoke of a harsh winter to come, of many cold nights ahead. But for now, with just some light flurries, it was pretty to watch. And those kunoichi in the Hokage's office watched with wide eyes and bated breaths, waiting for their teammates, their family, their friends, to return to them safely.

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Elsewhere, Hiashi stalked down the corridors, angry beyond all belief with the Hokage. He barely noticed as the two Hyuuga elders fell into step behind him. Katsuro Hyuuga and Kanaye Hyuuga, some of the oldest surviving members of the entire Clan. They had seen his father and his father's father's days when they had lead them through times both light and dark.

Now was decidedly a dark time for the Hyuuga family.

"The Hokage did not acquiesce to our request, I take it," stated Katsuro unnecessarily. "Fool of a woman."

"She has no idea what she is going to do to us. What that thief could do to us," stated Kanaye. "The Hyuuga Clan is the cornerstone of Konoha. Without it..."

"It isn't the thief I'm worried about," stated Hiashi, as the three of them strolled out into the courtyard and away from Tsunade's mansion, back to the Hyuuga district. They paid no notice to the snow. For all the _Byakugan_'s legendary vision abilities, they couldn't see it's simple beauty.

"Whomever takes possession of the Scroll of Sealing is able to unlock our most deadly of secrets," stated Katsuro. "What more possible danger could we have to contend with?"

With a start, Kanaye realized what Hiashi was getting at. "Neji."

"Yes..." replied Hiashi with a heavy sigh. "Even if Neji comes into possession of the Scroll of Sealing... what do you think he will do?"

"Do you think he would hesitate to do it either?"

"It would mean the end of our clan..."

"What does he care for our clan?" hissed Katsuro. "He nearly killed Hinata when he was thirteen to try and escape his destiny... will he really hesitate when he can do it now with the Scroll? Certainly, he would perish by our hand, but within a generation, the Branch family would be free, our secrets revealed, and we would be destroyed by chaos."

Hiashi nodded in agreement, though in truth he wondered. He'd been training Neji recently, after all. Ever since the Chuunin exams had ended. Neji had changed a lot since those days, and due in no small part to Naruto's winning against him. Still, he wondered.

"I hope against hope you are successful," he murmured, silently praying for Neji's success. Not just against the thief, but with the Scroll. Hiashi's taking Neji as his student had been a rare occurrence in the Hyuuga family, but he suspected it would not be the last. Things were changing. And the Hyuuga's had to change with them, or they would wither and die.

"We dispatch Main House members anyway?" asked Katsuro, interrupting Hiashi's thoughts.

"It would be best, but only Hiashi-sama remains, all others still in Konoha are Branch. Hiashi-sama?"

"... no."

"No?" the Hyuuga Elders said, practically in unison.

"No. I won't be going. We leave this up to the team already in place. And hope and pray they are successful. There's nothing else we can do for them now. Even if I left now I can't hope to catch up to them in time. Either they'll succeed... or the Hyuuga have no future."

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**Author's Notes: **

I have no idea if such a Scroll exists, but it seems likely to me that the Hyuuga's would do so. Bardsocko deserves full credit for both of the sinister Hyuuga elders.


	3. Impenetrable

Pursuit was swift. Neji, Tenten, and Naruto made remarkably good time. Even so, their quarry, the mysterious thief, was making even better time. And while ninja were trained early on at the Academy to run like the wind, even along tree branches, there was just no substitution for the long legs that came with adulthood.

They were forced, therefore, to travel all through the night in an effort to just keep up with their quarry. Neji quickly came to the realization that they needed to engage them soon, or the trip would wear them out significantly. Or worse, the thief would be able to escape. Slip away in the sometimes trackless forests of Konoha and be lost to them forever.

There was one slight advantage to be found for the Konoha trio.

The snow, beautiful in Konoha, was an annoyance here, to be fair. None of them were prepared for winter travel. Tenten especially, with her exposed arms and thin silk garments, was freezing cold. However, it proved to be an excellent aid in other ways. The falling white flakes were making it easy to track the thieves footprints. As the old saying went, he could run, but he couldn't hide.

Even if he could hide from an ordinary shinobi, he could not hide from this.

"_Byakugan_," intoned Neji, activating his bloodline limit. Veins bulged along the sides of his face as his eyes grew intense and his vision expanded a thousand fold, encompassing the entire surrounding landscape, in near three-hundred-and-sixty degrees and for hundreds of yards in each direction.

"Anything?" asked Tenten, keeping pace beside him.

"Nothing yet..." he replied, scanning the line of his vision which extended all about him. "Still only footprints, but... wait...!"

"Yeah?"

"Got him."

Neji took point, Tenten and Naruto following close behind. Their destination was a grove of pine trees up ahead with a clearing. To their vast surprise, the three of them emerged from the trees to find their mysterious thief standing there casually, leaning against a nearby tree, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Yo," he said, giving a weak little wave in their direction. "You must be one of those legendary Hyuuga types," he said, drawling out the 'legendary' word like it did nothing to impress him. "Eyes are a dead give-away."

"Who are you?" asked Neji, immediately tense, anticipating a trap. Behind him, he could see Naruto palming a pair of shuriken and Tenten readying her summoning scrolls. Good, they'd be ready if something happened.

"Who are you?" he repeated. "Why did you break into the Hyuuga complex?" Silence came from the silver-haired thief. "Answer me. What did you take?"

"My my, so many questions... hardly know where to begin..."

"You will state your identity," demanded Neji darkly. "Then you will surrender your stolen goods and come with us back to Konoha, or your life is forfeit."

"Hmmmm... well, when you put it like that..." stated the thief, deliberately shrugging both swords off of his back. The genin tensed, but he merely held them, still sheathed, in his hand, holding them up for them to be properly seen.

"No way...!"

"Oh, recognize these I see. Mmm, must be family heirlooms," said the thief, admiring the prize in his hand. "I could probably get some good coin for these."

Neji slid into a _Jyuuken_ stance, _Byakugan_ fully activated. "You will place those on the ground and surrender, or I -will- kill you."

Mildly confused (as Sakura would say, having a "blonde moment") Naruto glanced over at Tenten. "Are those things important?"

She rolled her eyes. "Naruto, those are sacred heirlooms of the Hyuuga family. I've seen those swords before, they hang in the main hallway. They relics from the Great Ninja War."

"Oooh, you're quite the little scholar, missy," replied the thief, sliding the swords back onto his back with slow, deliberate motions. "Oh right, we haven't been properly introduced. Toukestu is the name... Touketsu, formerly of Hidden Snow."

"Hidden Snow's toast!" yelled Naruto. "You guys weren't so tough without your armor!"

The now identified thief Touketsu's pale green eyes opened wide in surprise as he seemed to suddenly notice Naruto for the first time. "You... I know you. You're that... that Uzumaki brat who took down the Damiyo."

"Heh," replied Naruto. "If you call that moron a Damiyo, then sure. I put Princess Koyuki back on the throne where she belongs!"

"Enough talk!" growled Neji, not interested in the boring history lesson. "Hand over those relics or you will die. You have less than one minute."

"I don't even need a minute, Hyuuga," retorted Touketsu, hands rapidly forming seals.

Neji charged forward, sprang upwards and gracefully flipped end-over-end to land in a crouch before Touketsu, arms upraised in the _Jyuuken_ style. "This is the end for you... "

"_Hakke Rokujuuyonshou_...!"

"_Hyouton no Yoroi_!"

As Naruto and Tenten watched, Neji launched a flurry of attacks, his fingertips slamming into Touketsu with the force of a battering ram behind each strike, aiming at his tenketsu. First two, then four, then eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, and finally sixty-four strikes. Touketsu was hurled back by the sheer force of the attacks, slamming into the trunk of a nearby pine tree. His impact shook loose some snow that had accumulated in the higher branches, which fell down to conceal Touketsu from view momentarily.

The three Genin moved in for the kill... but had a nasty surprise in store for them.

As the snowflakes settled and they could see clearly again, they saw Touketsu wasn't even hurt. In fact, he looked completely untouched. Shocked, none could say how he did it, until they caught sight of a strange shimmer encompassing his body. A distortion of light. As a cracking sound filled the air, it became more evident to Neji exactly what had happened.

Touketsu had encompassed his body in an armor of ice that fit against his skin like a second layer. Each tenketsu strike had impacted against the armor. Charged with chakra, the ice was as hard as steel and protected Touketsu from his attacks. True, it was shattered now, and began to fall off of his body in layers, but he could undoubtedly make more if he had need of it.

Like his former Sound opponent, the human spider freak, Neji had to change tactics for this particular foe.

But first, he needed to observe the full extent of his abilities. Neji backflipped backwards and out of the way of a crude (obviously a feint) punch Touketsu threw at him, allowing Naruto and Tenten to do their thing.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

"_Tobidougu_!"

Shadow clones came charging in across the frozen ground, while high up in the sky a rain of kunai came hurtling down towards Touketsu. Neji watched carefully, intend to see how his foe would protect himself from the double onslaught. To his surprise, Touketsu rushed forward, meeting both fighters as an equal, if not a superior. His taijutsu was near flawless, as he slammed knee and elbow into two clones, dispersing them in puffs of smoke, and grabbed a third as it tried to kick Touketsu, spinning him around and hurling him up as a makeshift shield, protecting him from the raining down kunai.

Sensing they couldn't beat him with punches and kicks alone, six of Naruto's clones dropped down, four filling the hands of the first two with swirling chakra.

"_Rasengan_!"

These two charged forward as their counterparts puffed out of existence, hoping to land a fatal blow on Touketsu while he was busy dodging aside a flurry of Tenten's shurikens. As it was, they impacted, but both attacks smashed not into a solid body, but into a frozen log that abruptly switched places with it. Both _Rasengan_s crashed into the log, obliterating it, leaving a dozen or so Naruto's left to scratch their heads and wonder where their enemy had gone. Tenten landed nearby, one of her scrolls trailing from her hand. Six shuriken were still clenched between her fingers as she sought out a target.

"_Kawarmiri no jutsu_," cursed Neji, angry at himself for being so distracted he hadn't even noticed it. Instantly he spotted where the real Touketsu had slipped to, and he was a lot closer than either of his teammates. Giving a war cry, he charged forward, palm upraised. If he could hit Touketsu before he used his ice armor, if he could get a critical strike...!

Touketsu grinned maniacally, and raised up a hand, two fingers upraised.

Neji came to an abrupt halt in mid-charge, stumbling and crashing to the ground, clutching at his head as raw agony exploded inside of his skull. He gave a most undignified scream as blinding pain shot through his entire body, though focused most primarily around his head.

"Neji!" Tenten and Naruto came rushing over to their teammate, though they both skidded to a halt as Neji's wild thrashings tore loose his forehead protector. Once it was free, it became fully apparent what his troubles were.

Glowing with an unholy emerald aura, the curse mark on his forehead had become active.

"Hey it worked," remarked Touketsu, glancing down at his hand with a happy smirk on his face. "Nice. And here I thought maybe I'd grabbed up the wrong jutsu by mistake... how very nice of your Hyuuga masters to so clearly label everything," he taunted, holding up the Scroll of Sealing in his hand.

"What the hell is that?" gasped Naruto.

"Aaaaggghh... it's... he's..." Neji managed to spit out, but couldn't do the rest. Tenten dropped down to his side to try and help him, but she wasn't sure how.

"Not feeling too articulate I see," noted Touketsu, shrugging. "Pity... but at least I know it works. Well, it's been fun, but I think that's all the time I have to play today kids. So I'll have to say ta for now," he added, deftly tossing the scroll up and catching it in the pack at his side.

Naruto, enraged at his treatment of Neji and casual attitude, charged forward, kunai filling each of his hands as Touketsu made a quick hand-seal.

"Here's a little trick my sister taught me, you little blonde bastard," stated Touketsu, rearing his hand back. "_Hyouton Tsubame Fubuki_...!"

The silver-haired ninja hurled his hand forward, unleashing a deadly wave of small icy swallows. Naruto came skidding to a halt, recognizing the attack but unable to do dodge out of the way fast enough as the tiny birds slammed into him with the force of daggers, shattering on impact and knocking him backwards. He collapsed onto the ground, scraped and bruised beyond measure but with (thankfully) no serious injuries.

By the time he came too, Neji was unconscious, Tenten was frantic, and their enemy was long gone. Cursing angrily, Naruto slammed his fist into the snow in frustration.

--

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--

Further northeast and getting more distance all the time, Touketsu grinned to himself, allowing his pace to proceed more leisurely for the moment, enjoying his victory over Konoha's team.

"If that's the finest they've got available, then they are sorely out of luck," stated Touketsu, drawing out the scroll again and examining it as he ran. "As I thought... much easier to steal than one of those damn Hyuuga's... compact and lightweight. And worth a fortune if I can find a damn buyer," he muttered, having had little luck. But it seemed finally Touketsu's luck was turning around.

Touketsu had been away from the Snow Country during Team Seven's visit, nearly six months ago now. They'd torn down everything their leader had built up in mere days, and he'd only returned in time to find wreckage where their Village had been and dead bodies in his comrades and sister. Not even a single scrap of their secret chakra armor was left, he'd not needed it for his simple mission afar. Now he had to make do without.

So he'd gone into mercenary work, testing the waters to see if a Hidden Village suited him enough to try and sign up. So far, no luck. Hidden Rain was sour as a swampland and it's people were twice as unpleasant to deal with. But he'd made a bit of money selling them some special exploding tags he'd found in his trip. Pity he neglected to mention they'd come from a squad of Hidden Rain chuunin he'd taken out beforehand. Over time, he'd gotten good at playing the angle of the rogue merchant. Steal something nobody else could get and sell it to them for triple the amount. Hell, given a few years, he might rebuild Hidden Snow.

That was still a long ways off, however, and Touketsu focused on his priority. Getting the Hyuuga Scroll of Sealing to some 'respectable' clients. It'd been sheer luck he'd stumbled across info about it, as well as the swords. And all from one chance encounter at an inn, some guy in a black cloak talking to his compatriot. Thieves, no doubt, and missing-nin more than likely. Probably hoping to get it themselves. But he'd beaten them to it.

The swords he might even keep... he kinda liked them.

"Poor sap had no idea who he was dealing with... hehehehe."

With a push, he leapt up along the pine trees branch and hurled himself forward, putting on a bit more speed. He was anxious to be done, but he had no fear of pursuit. They'd never catch him. And even if they did, they couldn't beat him, not with him holding the weapon to take down their strongest fighter.

He was invincible.

--

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--

**Author's Notes: **

Toukestu means "Frozen" near as I can tell, which seems to fit into the ice-named members of Hidden Snow. Oh yeah, and he's Fubuki's sister. Remember? Pink hair, wings, totally pwned by Sasuke? Hyouton no Yoroi is "Ice Armor."


	4. Rising Spirits

Four hours later, Neji managed to regain consciousness, though he quickly came to wish he hadn't.

For one, his entire body ached like he'd been hit by his own sixty-four point strike (an experience he'd been given on more than one occasion with his training under Hiashi). His forehead was killing him, and he was freezing cold. Gently, regretting it almost the instant he started moving but unable to stop, Neji sat upright, opening his eyes. His vision was blurry, but after a moment things came into sharp focus.

He could barely feel the heat from the fire though. His whole body was numb.

Naruto and Tenten sat across from him, watching him with various degrees of worry on their faces. Naruto had stripped down to his black undershirt, the First Hokage's necklace dangling from around his neck. With a start, Neji realized Naruto's orange jacket had been covering him like a rough blanket. Angrily he pulled it off, then folded it up and handed it back to Naruto.

"What happened?" he asked, his most recent memories fuzzy before he passed out from the pain.

His teammates glanced at one another uneasily.

"He got away, didn't he...?" muttered Neji.

"The important thing is that you're alr-" stated Tenten.

"It is not the important thing. He's got the Scroll of Sealing. That must be it... that's how he... how he disabled me," he muttered darkly under his breath, his ire rising.

"Scroll of Sealing?" asked Naruto.

Neji stared into the flame, feeling the warmth at long last. The effects were wearing off. "You both know about the history of the Hyuuga... the division of Main family and Branch family... the curse seal," he said, spitting out the last one like it was one of Gai's infamous 'Springtime of Youth' dumplings.

The both of them nodded. Naruto had heard it during the Chuunin exams, and Tenten had heard the sort of thing on and off for ages training with Neji, who confided in her a great deal (usually when the two of them slipped off, unable to stand their teammates).

"That was the Scroll of Sealing the thief... Touketsu... had on his person. It must've been. Over the years, the secret of how to imprint and activate the cursed seal is usually passed down from the leader of the Hyuuga Clan to his or her heir. Hiashi-sama, however, once confided in me that a scroll was kept with all the secrets of the Hyuuga clan written down on it. The Elders had strict instructions to pass it on to an heir if the head of the clan should meet with an unfortunate end."

"Not too uncommon, given the hazards of shinobi lifestyle," remarked Tenten, who was taking the time to sharpen her kunai.

Neji nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Anyone who has that scroll can learn all of our secrets," stated Neji. "So our thief hasn't just stolen our past... he's stolen our future as well," he added bitterly. "And I let him escape."

"Hey, it's alright," said Naruto, unaccustomed to seeing the proud Hyuuga genius so morose. "We'll get it back."

"How? The instant I get close Touketsu can just activate the curse seal again. I'm useless," he spat out bitterly, his white eyes dark with anger. Anger at himself, at the curse seal, at the family that had done this to him.

"Yeah, well luckily you've got two teammates who won't let you down," quipped Tenten, forming a quick seal with her left hand and placing her kunai back into one of her scrolls, rolling it up and snapping it closed, placing it in the belt at her side. "Ain't that right, Naruto?"

"Hell yeah!" said the blonde Genin with a grin, shrugging back on his jacket and zipping it up. "We'll get that Scroll and those swords back. Believe it!" he added, throwing a punch into the air.

Ever the pessimist, Neji was skeptical. "It won't be easy..."

"All the more reason we need to make a plan," stated Naruto.

Two pairs of eyes, one ivory white, the other chocolate brown, turned to regard him. Naruto blinked under the scrutiny. "What?"

"Did I just hear Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number One Ninja at Surprising People..." stated Tenten slowly, in disbelief. "... state he wanted to make a _plan_?"

"Certainly surprised me," Neji interjected dryly.

--

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--

The team slept throughout the night and were off again in the early morning. None of them had managed to sleep well, they were all freezing cold and stiff by morning. The fire had helped a little but not nearly enough against the biting winds that seemed to pick up early in the day. No matter how they looked at it, things were going to be rough from here on out. Thankfully, Tenten had a supply of soldier pills in one of her holsters, though they were putting those off. They'd need them for the return trip.

Naruto had spend much of the morning in contemplation, his expression scrunched up as he gave great thought to the situation. So far, he hadn't come up with much useful, only a few fantastical ideas that involved equipment they didn't have or fellow shinobi who weren't present and couldn't help. In fact, most of his plans were ignoring Neji, and he'd noticed that after about the third one. After all, he wasn't just called a genius because of his freakish eyes.

"Naruto, I intend to fight," he stated.

"But I don't want you to get..."

Neji's eyes narrowed, his glare enough to send chills down Naruto's spine.

"Uhm... get hurt..."

"I will fight," stated Neji. "A real ninja doesn't fear pain. Or death." Not wishing to argue further, Neji pushed off hard and rocketed ahead, past Naruto and Tenten at a much faster pace. Neither of them had any desire to catch up with him. Not when he was in a mood like this. But they kept pace because, like it or not, he was going to need their help with t his one.

"You may not fear getting yourself killed, but we sure do," muttered Naruto under his breath. Tenten, keeping pace alongside him, nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, neither of them knew that Neji could hear them.

Well, not hear them per se, not even a Hyuuga genius had three-hundred-and-sixty degree hearing as well as vision. But Neji had long ago learned the value of lip-reading. Able to peer clear through walls and observe others, it would behoove him not to learn what they were saying for future ninja missions.

He supposed, in a way, he was slipping back into old habits. Trapped in his destiny, he'd been angry and hateful and he'd especially hated anyone who spoke down on him -or- tried to help him. He couldn't stand other's pity (or so he perceived it). Now, once more forcibly reminded of the power of the cursed seal, he was fully convinced he would be killed in the upcoming encounter, and Tenten and Naruto were rightfully concerned for him.

He'd apologize later, he promised. After the mission.

He still wasn't wholly convinced they'd all make it out alive, but his own little promise was his way of regaining just a smidgen of hope they would be victorious.

--

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--

However, they didn't catch up with Touketsu that day, and when night started to set on the landscape Neji called a halt. They'd been keeping up with Touketsu's trail in the fresh snow for most of the day but it had vanished an hour ago, and the Hyuuga genius was on edge. He kept his _Byakugan_ fully activated at all times, but could see no sign of their enemy anywhere. Still, they had more pressing concerns.

So they'd set up camp for another freezing night, lamenting their lack of warm clothes. Naruto had unleashed a small army of _Kage Bunshin_ into the woods to gather up firewood, and Tenten had remembered one of the scrolls in her pack had been prepped for this sort of emergency situation, containing a small, two-man tent and some cooking gear and rations. Nothing fancy, but together with a roaring fire quickly produced, they were grateful for a chance to feed their starving bellies.

They'd set up camp on a cliffside overlooking a valley... far... far below them. Neji had chosen it specifically because it was a perfectly defensible position. Cliffside on three sides, meaning only one their enemy could approach from, and they'd see them coming a mile off, allowing Neji a chance to relax his bloodline limit and conserve chakra. And a simple glance down indicated that no shinobi could climb the cliff-face, it was slick with ice. A feature he pointed out to Naruto.

Peering over the side, the blonde-haired Genin wasn't quite so convinced. "How do you know he won't be able to climb up ice? Guy seems to know his way around the stuff pretty well."

"Naruto, anyone who can climb up a sheer cliff-face, slick with ice, like -that- is a phenomenal super-ninja."

"How do you know he's not a pheno... er... a super-ninja?" asked Naruto, unable to wrap his mouth around the long word Neji had used.

"Because if he is, we're screwed," replied Neji dryly.

"You two going to admire the sights all day or give me a hand?" Tenten called out from she sat by the fire. "I never did so well in my Kunoichi Home Ec classes, you know. I barely know how to boil water."

Kunoichi having to pose as ordinary women as they often did, they often were taught a number of classes their male counterparts didn't take part in, including some rudimentary cooking. Tenten, however, often skipped class to practice her shuriken throwing.

"Which is a considerable advantage over either of us," replied Neji, though he made his way over to help Tenten prepare their meager rations into something suitable to eat. Naruto did his best to help, but he was so helplessly out of his element (his knowledge being limited to -just- how to boil water and heat ramen) that Neji had him stand guard and watch the treeline. That's where enemies, or allies, would come from.

Though they'd long given up hope that Leaf had sent reinforcements to back them up.

They were on their own.

--

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--

The addition of a tent didn't do much to help with the biting cold of the coming evening but it did wonders to fight against the wind, and at this point any relief was welcome. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite big enough for more than two people comfortably. Neji had therefore insisted that Tenten make use of it, though he'd quickly stated his reasons as being because of her lack of comfortable jacket as opposed to her being a girl (for which she likely would've kicked him clear over the side of the cliff). He and Naruto would alternate keeping watch or sharing the tent to keep warm.

Neji took the second watch, relieving a very tired Uzumaki, who looked on the verge of falling into the fire from exhaustion. Bidding him a good-night, he sat down on a snow-covered rock and sighed heavily, wondering what to do.

He'd been wracking his brain for ideas, but he couldn't think of anything that would conceivably work against their enemy. Touketsu wasn't a fool either, no doubt he was coming up with countermeasures of his own. The more he had that cursed Scroll, the more he learned about the Hyuuga's. The more he knew about Neji's fighting style and abilities.

Which meant, whether or not he liked it, he had to rely on his teammates, one of whom was currently snoring loud enough to be heard all the way back in Hidden Leaf. Neji rolled his eyes. He could only hope Naruto's penchant for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat would come in handy here.

Sighing, he glanced out at the frozen landscape past the fire.

Snow was more common this farther north, and by the time of year it had choked the landscape and rendered it white and silent as a funeral linen. Everything was pure and white, virtually untouched, and so silent he could hear his own heart beating.

Then he heard something else.

A footfall in the snow. First one, then two... then another. Someone coming closer. Byakugan activated, Neji scanned the treeline, but in truth there was no need, as the figure had already emerged into his normal line of sight, stepping out from behind one of the trees and onto the top of the cliff.

Silver, spiky hair. A blue swath of war-paint across his face. Pale green eyes. Black shirt, blue leggings, and two swords slung over his back.

Touketsu was here.

"Yo," he said, with a friendly wave of his hand.

--

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**Author's Notes: **

I don't know if you can store such things as a tent and camping gear in a scroll but it seems likely if you can jam 500,000 kunai into one, like Tenten seems to do. 


	5. Bad Blood

Neji was instantly on his feet, sliding hands and feet into the Jyuuken stance, readying himself for battle. To his surprise (and increasing irritation) Touketsu barely showed any concern at all. He seemed perfectly at ease with the whole situation. He wasn't taking Neji seriously.

He thinks I'm not a threat, Neji realized. Arrogant bastard.

"Oh this is delightful, here I was worried I'd have to spend more effort to draw you into a trap or something... yet you've saved me all the trouble," Touketsu remarked. "They need to teach more Genin to be like you guys... just waltzing right into my hands like this."

Neji blinked in surprise, realizing what he meant. Their location, carefully chosen for it's defensive capabilities, had now become a trap. There was no way for them to escape except through Touketsu. Smirking, fully aware of his predicament, the former Snow ninja shrugged off his pack, reaching behind his back to draw off both his swords, holding them still sheathed at his side, where he could more easily draw them.

His silver-haired enemy smirked. "Nice reading, this scroll... very good stuff in here. Still, to my mind, I know clients would pay a heck of a lot more for a real -live- Hyuuga than some dumb old scroll, good or not. And I realized... -with- the scroll... I could bring you to them."

"Over my dead body," snarled Neji.

"That's the general idea," replied Touketsu, slipping one of the swords into his belt and reaching out to draw the other from it's sheath. However, the sword remained stuck in it. He gave another hard jerk, hoping to wrench it free, but it didn't so much as badge. "The hell...?"

Several long moments of hard, almost comedic prying, and Touketsu still couldn't drawn the sword from it's sheath.

Neji gave his trademark grin, glad for something to have finally gone right for once. "I recognize that sword, Touketsu," he stated. "It is called the Hyuuga's Edge, and it was said no one save a member of the Hyuuga bloodline could draw it from it's sheath. It will never serve you."

Touketsu's jade eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You can steal our secrets but you can never be one of us," added Neji, deciding to twist the barb in a bit deeper. "Loser."

The former Snow thief glared at Neji, and he felt a hint of his killing intent start to leak out from his calm demeanor. Without realizing it, Neji had hit upon Touketsu's weak spot... deep down, for all his show and talent, he was jealous. He wanted the Hyuuga power for himself, no doubt, and was frustrated to be forever denied it.

If there was a way he could use that, Neji wasn't certain. Yet. But if there was a way, he'd find it. Or die trying.

Angered, Touketsu's hands quickly formed seals.

"_Raijingu Sandaa Arashi!_"

Tensed for an attack, Neji watched in dread and fascination as the howling winds picked up to the level of a gale, accompanied by a flurry of stinging hard snow. A snow storm had risen up out of the environment seemingly out of no where. Oddly, there came a flash of lightning every so often, something that usually didn't go together with such an attack. Neji leaned into the wind, fighting to hold his position. That Touketsu could summon such a storm bespoke of his abilities, but Neji suspected it was preparation for something worse to come.

He was right.

"_Renkuudan_...!" howled Touketsu, his silver locks waving in the breeze as he thrust out his hands hard. A blast of wind followed them, though it streaked clear past Neji and hit the tent where his comrades were, tearing through it in a matter of seconds.

Neji smirked. All part of the plan.

Two puffs of smoke greeted the ice-warrior as the tent fell apart, Naruto's signature shadow replications at work. Neji's Byakugan had already located where his real teammates were, as they'd slipped out as soon as Touketsu had arrived and gone into hiding. Now, they launched a devastating attack as Naruto sprang up out of the snow beside Neji and Tenten leapt down gracefully from a nearby tree-top.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

"_Tobidougu_!"

Once again a small army of shadow clones came charging in across the frozen ground, while high up in the sky a rain of kunai came hurtling down towards Touketsu. He was amply prepared this time for both attacks, however, and with a minimum of concentration he sent a wave of icy-wind washing down over both of them, knocking kunai and shadow clone out of the air alike. Half a dozen shadow clones puff out of existence.

However, he wasn't the only one prepared.

Tenten twisted in midair, slinging out some near-invisible wire from her fingertips to catch a nearby tree branch. "Now!" she shouted.

The five remaining Naruto's quickly converged on one another, and four of them grabbed up their comrade by his arms and legs. With a mighty heavy, they hurled him forward, head-first, like a torpedo. "_Bunshin Taiatari_!"

The Naruto clone slammed head-first into Touketsu's midriff, doubling him over. Neji bit back a comment about how Naruto's hard head had finally come in use, deciding to save it for another time. His concentration broken, his storm jutsu was weakening. Neji charged forward, moving in around from the side. He kicked off from a nearby tree, hoping to gain an aerial attack from above Touketsu and add gravity to his assault.

Unfortunately, Touketsu had been expecting something of the sort, and held up his hands, two fingers upraised. Neji hit the ground hard before him, clutching at his head as blinding pain shot through his body once again. Even being ready to experience it hadn't help to brace him for the sheer shock of the curse seal.

"That all you got, Hyuuga?"

"Not... quite..." Neji replied through gritted teeth.

Agile as a Wind country dancing girl, Tenten used the wire to spin her body about in mid-air, kicking off from a nearby tree and rocketing towards Touketsu. He braced to block her attack, but he wasn't her target, and she deftly slammed her elbow down against his wrist in a light attack meant to break his grip, grabbing up the Hyuuga's Edge as she back flipped out of combat, moving in and out before Touketsu could return the attack.

"Nya-nya, gotcha sword!" Tenten taunted, unabashedly blowing a raspberry at Touketsu. Stunned and infuriated, the former Snow thief glared down at Neji, whom he blamed for his current predicament.

The curse seal began to glow bright emerald as power flowed into it. "You're becoming an annoyance, Hyuuga..."

Neji glared up at him defiantly. "You need me alive, remember?"

"True. But not necessarily intact. Best I just keep you out of the way for now." Dropping his hand, giving Neji a moment to recover, he quickly formed seals with his freed hands. Touketsu then slammed his palm down against the ground. "_Hyourou no Jutsu_!"

An icy barrier sprang up around Neji, and before he could react, he was encased up to his neck in solid, rock-hard ice. Between that and the weakening effects of the curse seal, he couldn't move in the slightest. He was powerless.

"There... finally," muttered Touketsu, his breathing ragged. The strain of fighting with such powerful jutsu was wearing on his limited chakra supply. Neji focused his _Byakugan_. He was right, his chakra pathways were growing dim. He was stretching himself too thin.

"Let him go you bastard!"

Touketsu turned back as another gust of wind picked up, but not from his overhead storm. The whirl of chakra from Naruto's _Rasengan_. Naruto charged forward, ball of energy in hand, ready to slam into Touketsu and rip him apart. Reacting purely by instinct, the former shinobi of Hidden Snow grabbed up the second blade he'd stolen, forgetting in his haste Neji's words about it being unable to unsheath. However, he slid easily from the sheath as if had been well-oiled, sliding easily into his hand. Reacting purely by instinct, he rammed the blade forward, and it knicked Naruto's shoulder, causing his _Rasengan_ attack to go awry.

Naruto crashed into the snowy ground, bleeding profusely from his shoulder, as his teammates got a better look at the blade in Touketsu's hand.

The curved sword wasn't just stained in Naruto's blood. It was already the color crimson.

--

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--

In the Hyuuga household, the Elders taught the young students, even outside of their Academy training. Taught them to use the Jyuuken fighting style. Taught them how to be proper and respectful men and women. But primarily, they taught of the long and glorious history of the Hyuuga clan, which was older than the Hidden Leaf village itself, and one of the founding Clans.

However, one part of their history no member of the Hyuuga's would ever speak of.

The Hyuuga's spoke pridefully of their own clan's accomplishments, but they spoke in dark, hushed tones of the Uchiha, their offspring clan. Bad blood had been spilled between them during an event known only as the "Uchiha Tragedy." It concerned the splintering of the one Clan into two. The Elders had been content to forget the incident, so a number of rumors had passed amongst the Hyuuga clan concerning the horror of the event and the bloodshed entailed, some true, most falsehoods.

Some tales concerned the slaughter of whole families to keep bloodlines safe, the tricking of siblings, the murder of parents, betrayal, the awakening of dark powers, and worse. When all was said and done, the Hyuuga's refused to speak of it ever again. And they had as little to do with the Uchiha's as possible. The Uchiha clan returned the favor, up until Itachi's slaughter six years ago. The Hyuuga clan, while outwardly sympathetic to the young orphan Sasuke, had been secretly delighted that the black stain in their history could finally be forgotten.

Of particular concern was Uchiha's Crescent. Said to have been wielded by the protagonist of the Hyuuga-Uchiha battle, its blade was, even fully cleaned, crimson red, perpetually stained with the blood of it's vanquished enemies. It had rested on the wall underneath Hyuuga's Edge (symbolically underneath it to reinforce the Hyuuga's own pride) until both blades had been stolen.

And now Uchiha's Crescent was in the hands of Touketsu.

--

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--

Neji watched in horror as Touketsu lifted up the dripping wet blade, admiring it's simplistic yet deadly design. Wet with Naruto's blood, the blade was giving off a strange aura, visible to his _Byakugan_. It almost looked like chakra. Neji had heard of some weapons that shinobi used that were imbued with strange qualities not unlike jutsu. If any weapons fit such a category, it was the Hyuuga's heirlooms.

Naruto got to his feet, launching himself forward, kunai in hand. His wound wasn't so serious that it would keep him down long. However, Touketsu countered and blocked his every strike as effortlessly as if he was swatting flies out of the air. His arm and the Uchiha's crescent instinctively shifted position to block Naruto's attacks.

"What the...?" Touketsu seemed just as surprised by his good luck as Naruto was.

The blonde-haired genin gave a war-cry and hurled himself forward with renewed intensity, this time from all angles with a number of shadow clones. But to his vast astonishment, Touketsu continued to block every attack effortlessly. He even managed to go on the offensive, and puff after puff filled the air as replications vanished from decisive slashes of the sword.

One vicious gash caught the real Naruto full across the chest, and with a cry he went crashing to the ground, blood oozing from the wound to stain his orange jacket crimson. Touketsu laughed... mocking and hurtful. It cut worse than the blade did.

"Finally... thought I'd never be rid of that hyperactive moron," muttered Touketsu.

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and without hesitation Touketsu let loose a volley of shuriken at Tenten, who was reaching down for one of her summoning scrolls. She dodge the attack, but one of the shuriken knocked her scroll down onto the ground, far out of her reach. Her other scroll was already expended, and she had no backup weapons in her packs or leg-holster. Now she had only one weapon left, clutched in her left hand.

Hyuuga's Edge.

--

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**Author's Notes: **

Raijngu Sandaa Arashi means Raging Thunder Storm. Quijote3000 deserves full credit for inspiring the "Uchiha Tragedy" element of the story. 


	6. No Bite

Tenten was an expert weaponsmaster.

Team Gai was specialized in direct, physical combat. Gai and Lee were expert taijutsu-users, Neji had an unparalleled skill with the Jyuuken. Tenten, unable to compete with either of these, had devoted herself to kunai and shuriken, three-section staff and crossbow, and literally mastered every weapon, no matter how exotic, as part of her self-regulated training so she could keep up with her teammates. She could hit a target a hundred times out of a hundred, a straight bull's eye. And she was so versatile that Neji and Lee had one remarked that Tenten could take a potted plant and turn it into a deadly weapon.

Having overhead them, she decided to see if it was true, and Lee had wound up in the hospital with yet -another- bruise on his head.

The sword certainly wasn't her weapon of choice (arguing that anyone could learn how to swing a sword) but she knew how to use it, and she didn't hesitate with her teammates in danger. Her hand slid down and grasped the hilt of Hyuuga's Edge and she gave a mighty tug, although in truth there was no need. The blade slid out of the sheath as if it had been well-oiled, and she held it up in amazement.

Unlike the Uchiha's Crescent, which was a short, curved blade, Hyuuga's edge was a long, double-edged sword of an older and foreign style, covered in white kanji. However, she noticed something odd about it immediately. Shifting the blade to get a closer look, she ran her thumb along the edge, testing to make sure. She'd been right...

... Hyuuga's Edge...

... had no edge at all. It was completely dull on both sides, with absolutely no bite to it at all. She might as well have picked up a tree branch for all the good it would do her.

Tenten's eyes snapped open and she swung up Hyuuga's Edge seconds before Touketsu and his crimson blade could cleave her pretty head off her shoulders. The force behind the blow knocked her back but she slid into a defensive stance, blade upraised. It couldn't cut her enemy but it was solid steel, at least. And she felt more comfortable with a weapon in hand, no matter what kind of weapon it was.

Crimson flashed in the dark sky as Touketsu launched himself forward with his weapon. However, unlike his attacks on Naruto, he didn't seem to fare nearly as well as Tenten deftly dodged and parried his every attack. And it wasn't entirely that she was an expert. Neji, still forced onto the sidelines in his icy prison, watched carefully, and hit upon it immediately. Uchiha's Crescent needed blood to activate, and then it allowed to see through and counter that person's attacks, not unlike the _Sharingan_. And since he hadn't scored a hit on Tenten yet, it was all Touketsu fighting her.

It wasn't much, but it was an edge, and hopefully it would be enough.

--

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--

Neji glanced over at Naruto, content that Tenten was reasonably safe for the moment. Their blonde-haired comrade was on the ground, covered in blood, but curiously, the wound didn't seem so bad as it did a moment ago. Frowning, Neji focused more closely on Naruto with his _Byakugan_.

There was his chakra pathways, but they flowed with an energy that didn't look bluish-white, like normal chakra. They were a charged orange-red. Neji remembered, he'd seen this sort of chakra before during the Chuunin match. And what happened next...

A face formed in the chakra, a demonic, fearsome face, and it growled at Neji. And he -heard- it.

"Kyuubi," he murmured. So that was it.

Neji had been one of the few people who'd been able to figure out Naruto's duality sometime after their fight. When one looked at the evidence, it all added up, really. Naruto had been born a short while before the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, and all references to its being sealed away by the Fourth were vague as to -where- it had been sealed. He had whiskers on his cheeks, incredible stamina, he could heal terrible wounds rapidly and could in times of need, such as when he'd battled Neji, tap into Kyuubi's chakra as his own. That's why his tenketsu sealing hadn't worked. Demonic chakra was impossible to seal away properly, especially if he hadn't seen it coming.

Kyuubi was sealed away inside of Naruto.

--

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--

Content Naruto was safe, Neji returned to what he'd been doing earlier... trying to find a weak point in the ice to focus his chakra and shatter it. So far, however, it was resisting all of his efforts. If he didn't...

... there!

Neji gave a mighty cry as he channeled the chakra out of his body and into the ice, shattering it. With a mighty heavy, he swung his arms up, sending fragments of ice raining down on the surrounding ground. He was free! He turned to face Touketsu, but their enemy was ready for him. Holding the Crescent in one hand, he held up his other, two fingers upraised. Once more, Neji was sent crashing to the ground, clutching his forehead as the curse seal activated.

"You bastard!"

Tenten launched herself at Touketsu, blade swinging. He countered, but awkwardly, and her blade would've sliced clear through his side if it had anything resembling a sharp edge. As it was, it barely gave him a bruise. Tenten wasn't finished, however, she used the attack to move in close and inside his guard. Just because she was a weaponmaster didn't mean she didn't know some basic taijutsu as well.

Or had more than one trick up her sleeve.

Or in her mouth. _Fukumi Hari._

Utilizing a trick she'd once been taught by Shizune during a hospital trip, Tenten used her tongue to loosen a hidden needle she'd placed behind her back tooth a while back. Puckering up, she blew, and the needle sped forward, sticking into Touketsu's bare wrist. She felt her mouth start to grow numb, but it was well worth it. She'd had worse when she'd gotten her wisdom teeth removed.

Cursing, Touketsu lashed out with Uchiha's Crescent, slashing across Tenten's shoulder when she wasn't able to draw back fast enough. She crashed to the ground, holding her shoulder with her free hand to staunch the bleeding. Besides, her attack had worked.

As she watched, Touketsu was forced to drop his hand out of the seal position and release Neji from the effects of the curse seal. Neji collapsed, breathing heavily, still in pain, but no longer blindingly so. He'd be able to move soon enough.

Tenten only regretted she wasn't yet able to poison the needle so it could kill Touketsu, but she didn't fully trust her own abilities. After all, a poison needle could do as much harm to her as to her enemy if she wasn't careful. As it was, she was content to have a numb mouth for the next few days if it meant Neji was safe. And it turned out her tactic was working. Touketsu couldn't hold onto both the Crescent and maintain the seal, he had to choose.

"Things not going your way?" she asked cutely, grinning.

Infuriated by this latest turn of events, Touketsu reared back his blade and brought it down with all of his might. Tenten brought up the Hyuuga's Edge to counter. Crimson met white, and the Edge shattered under the attack. Shards of steel still covered in white kanji fell to the ground, and though the blade of the Hyuuga Clan proved to have saved one last life before it was destroyed, as the impact through off Touketsu's attack, and his curved sword cleaved into the snowy ground, missing Tenten's head... barely. Touketsu wasn't finished, however, a vicious kick followed his attack, and his foot slammed into Tenten's head, knocking her unconscious. He slammed his foot down on her arm next, forcing her to drop the broken half of a sword, still clutched in her nerveless fingers as she fell into the darkness.

"You... goddamn kids..." muttered Touketsu, wringing out his nerveless hand. "Well no matter, I got what I came for... one really sweet blade, and one live Hyuug-..."

Touketsu whirled around, as Neji reached down calmly and picked up the shattered half of Hyuuga's Edge. About half a foot of steel still remained attached to the hilt, enough to be used as a rough dagger or short sword. Beyond that, as Neji picked it up, he could instinctively tell how the blade had gotten it's name. It was made of a special steel that channeled chakra. Specifically, the power of a Hyuuga's _jyuuken_ techniques. Invisible to the naked eye, a wreath of power surrounded the blade as Neji held it up. It wouldn't cut flesh, but it would severely mess up internal organs if Neji scored a hit.

"I..." Neji raised his head, _Byakugan_ flashing. "... am going... to KILL you."

Unaware of this, unaware of the danger, Touketsu wrongly assumed he was invincible against a half-dead Hyuuga with a broken sword, and charged forward, swinging his blade. Neji slid out his leg, assuming a _Jyuuken_ stance, the Edge in hand. He too blocked and parried each attack Touketsu made, and returned them in force. Both blades lashed out with the fierce power of their wielders, and the ring of metal on metal filled the air, even over the howl of the wind, as Neji and Touketsu's danced a deadly dance of steel. Nor was Touketsu content to play fair. His feet swept up to try and trip Neji and kick, but Neji countered and dodged, moving as gracefully as a Wind country dancing girl.

Touketsu was an untrained swordsman, but as Tenten was wont to quip, anyone could swing a sword. Uchiha's Crescent offered no help, however, it's own properties dormant until it could draw blood. Neji was likewise burdened with a broken blade. But what both of them lacked in finesse they made up for in raw power. Neither was willing to give an inch.

Neji, however, was weakening, and in only a matter of moments, Touketsu would overpower him, kill his comra... no... kill his friends... and destroy his clan, reveal their secrets to the world.

The old Neji would've railed against Fate, but accepted it as inevitable.

The new Neji took a page from Naruto's book, and kicked Fate square between the legs.

Reversing his grip on what remained of Hyuuga's Edge, Neji caught Touketsu's next jab full in the stomach, the curved blade of the Uchiha sliding clear through his stomach. The pain would've been near excruciating, but Neji was numb from the repeated attacks with the curse seal. He barely felt it. It was a clear indication of just how bad he was hurt, but right now, he didn't care.

Touketsu grinned widely, laughing. "I win, Hyuuga."

"Not quite," said Neji, and jammed the Edge down, hard. His weapon hit Touketsu's wrist, and the force of the attack shattered his wrist, forcing him to loose his grip on the Uchiha's crescent as he wrenched it free. Blood poured from both of the holes in Neji's stomach, but he ignored them, and dropped the hilt of his own weapon, assuming a familiar stance.

Startled but not beat, Touketsu changed tactics, quickly throwing up a defense. "_Hyouton no Yoroi_!" Ice encased his body, protecting him from attack, charged with chakra. Even a Hyuuga's _Hakke Rokujyuujonshou_ couldn't penetrate such an attack.

Neji, however, was no ordinary Hyuuga. And he knew some tricks that weren't written down on the Scroll of Sealing.

His stance shifted, his arms and legs changing as he assumed a new stance, and he lifted his head, his Byakugan blazing as they met Touketsu's pale green orbs. And Touketsu became very, very afraid. It was the last thing he'd ever see.

"Game over," stated Neji. "_Hakke Hyakunijuuhachishou_!"

To describe Neji's attack as devastating would've been a dreadful understatement, though Touketsu had no idea of how much danger he was in. The first two strikes only cracked his armor, after all, as he'd expected. As did the next four, which struck with lightning speed. However, Neji had counted on this as well, and that's why he'd resorted to his 126-strikes. The first sixty-four strikes cracked the armor, but after that, the follow-up sixty-four strikes struck through the cracks and hit Touketsu's tenketsu points. Each blow knocked the Snow shinobi back, sealing his chakra system and dealing untold damage to his internal organs. Touketsu spat blood, barely able to react before the attack had taken place, and he stumbled backwards...

... stumbled over the dropped Uchiha Crescent...

... and slipped clear over the edge of the cliff.

Touketsu gave a scream as he plummeted over the cliffside and down, down below, his shattered armor falling off of him in fragments as he vanished from sight. There was no way he'd survive a fall like that. Worse, his slip had knocked the Crescent off it's own precarious perch, and as Neji watched, it tumbled down off the side with him.

The Hyuuga genius collapsed to his knees, panting heavily for breath. Exhausted, drained, but victorious.

--

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--

**Author's Notes: **

No evidence has yet been given of Tenten using wires in the manner suggested or having hidden needles like Shizune, but they make sense given her signature fighting style.


	7. Fateful Decision

Despite a lack of training in the arts of a medic-nin, Tenten was very well accomplished at basic field medicine, having had to patch up Neji and Lee's wounds on more than one occasion. This she put to use making a rough bandage for Neji's wounds, stopping the blood flow, and then a sling for her broken arm. Touketsu had been really rough with the three of them.

Naruto didn't have a scratch, though he was soaked in blood.

It was he who remembered the Scroll of Sealing, and he nearly went over the cliff-edge to go retrieve it when Neji remembered Touketsu's pack, which he'd removed at the beginning of their fight. To the relief of all three genin, the pack contained the Scroll of Sealing. It was safe.

"We lost both swords though," said Naruto glumly. "The Hyuuga's are gonna be mad."

Neji winced at the though, holding his stomach where the blade had passed through. "They'll be glad to be rid of Uchiha's Crescent... nothing but bad memories with that. And Hyuuga's Edge... well... we'll take the pieces back." He patted the pack at his side, where the fragments, including the broken hilt, remained. Then he held out his hand. "Maybe it can be repaired," he said with doubt in his voice.

"Give me the Scroll, Naruto. I'll take care of that."

Naruto, completely naïve, handed it over without a second thought. "Sure thing, Neji. Here."

Tenten, however, wasn't quite so innocent to the ways of the world. Or the ways of her teammates, and her brow furrowed as she watched. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but then it snapped shut. She wasn't going to say a word.

Good. Neji didn't want to hear it.

As one, the three of them down Tenten's soldier pills and limped back to Konoha, their mission complete.

--

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--

They weren't the only ones with a completed mission.

Down, down, down below at the bottom of the cliffside lay a narrow crevice, barely big enough for two men to walk through side-by-side. Especially when one of them was as big as an ogre and twice as ugly. So it was that the black-cloaked figures walked single-file down the crevice, until the first signaled to his larger partner to wait and proceeded on alone.

He came upon the body of the snow-thief Touketsu, stained in his own blood, covered in snow and frozen solid. He paid it barely a backward glance. He had served his purpose. This was the same figures who had spoken in the tavern, so many days ago, when Touketsu had overheard them talking about the Hyuuga's Scroll of Sealing. These were the masterminds behind today's events.

As the smaller figure stepped forward and out of the shadows, the light illuminated his features.

Dark gray hair, not gray with age, for his face was smooth and unlined, saved for deep furrows under his eyes that came from many long, sleepless nights. His eyes were the most prominent feature he bore, being burning crimson despite his calm expression. His cloak was not merely black, but dotted with crimson clouds.

Uchiha Itachi. Genius. Renegade. Member of Akatsuki.

Barely even glancing up, he waited instead for a gust of wind, and held up his hand, fingers open as if to catch...

... and the Uchiha's Crescent dropped lightly into his hand.

It had hung suspended on some rocks above when Touketsu had fallen, and now the winds had shaken it loose, to be returned properly to it's rightful owner. Or at least, temporary rightful owner, for Itachi had no desire to keep it. Leaving the blade unsheathed, he made his way back to rejoin Kisame, his gargantuan Akatsuki partner, and together the two of them turned to depart. One side-mission achieved, they still had much to do in order to further their goals within Akatsuki.

Something that puzzled Kisame, as he glanced sidelong at his partner's newfound weapon. "What is with the new sword?" he asked respectfully.

"This blade belongs to the Uchiha Clan," replied Itachi quietly. "It is the legacy of that clan, not the Hyuuga's. It belongs in their safekeeping."

"So you're going to keep it?"

"Mmm," replied Itachi thoughtfully. "For now. But it will be returned to the Uchiha Clan when it is ready to receive it." That statement puzzled Kisame. The Uchiha's were almost all dead, everyone knew that. Only Itachi and his little brother Sasuke were still alive. The Clan was gone.

He shrugged, following after his senior partner. None of his business.

--

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--

Even with Tenten's soldier pills at their disposal, going was slow back to Konoha, with the weapon mistress with a broken arm and Neji still weak from bloodloss. Of them all, virtually only Naruto was uninjured (though not unharmed) and with energy to spare. He'd offered to carry them the rest of the way with some _Kage Bunshin_ but Neji had coldly refused, giving the impression he'd rather crawl back through the gates than allow himself to be carried like a sack of potatoes through them. Reluctantly, they'd set up a camp midway back to Konoha so they could rest. They'd be back tomorrow.

Tenten and Naruto were already fast asleep, lying sprawled out on the snow or propped up against a tree, and Neji sat on a log before the fire they'd prepared, pondering the rolled up piece of parchment in his hands. Such a small, simple thing, yet it held untold power. For good, for evil. He didn't know. And he'd been thinking long and hard on the matter ever since he'd taken it back from Touketsu.

As Hiashi had feared, Neji was contemplating destroying the Hyuuga Scroll of Sealing.

If he did, it would certainly mean his death. Maybe. Naruto and the others would do their best to protect him. The Hokage wouldn't be concerned, she didn't approve of the Hyuuga's methods any more than the Third had. But it had been an internal matter, a Clan matter, and they couldn't become involved. Nor would they now. Maybe he'd survive. Maybe he'd live to see the next generation, where there would be no division between Branch and Main families, where they would all be just Hyuuga's. To destroy the Scroll would mean a lot of ancient secrets would be lost, but it would take with it the curse that was the seal on his forehead with it. Others wouldn't have to suffer as he did.

His hands trembled, and angrily he caught himself.

What terrified him most was that he wasn't sure if he was trembling from the cold, from anger, or from excitement.

If it was anger... anger had come dangerously close to ruining a lot of good things in his life. He'd nearly killed his cousin out of anger, and come close to doing the same to Naruto as well. Naruto had opened his eyes. Really opened his eyes.

He has better eyes than me, Neji had realized. No _Byakugan_ could see into the human heart the way Naruto's blue orbs could.

Glancing over at his sleeping comrade, Neji murmured to himself, "maybe it's time I tried a look."

So he did, he looked at the Scroll from a new angle, and thought of the consequences of his actions. If he did destroy the Scroll, he'd be consigned to death, and then he wouldn't be able to protect his family. Or his teammates. Or his friends. They needed him, he realized. Not just because he was strong, but because of who he was. The curse seal hadn't been created out of malice, it was made to protect the family as much as the secrets of the Hyuuga clan. Perhaps it had been used maliciously in the past... but it hadn't forced Neji's father to die needlessly, as he'd believed for many years.

Hizashi had chosen to walk that path willingly.

Neji held up the scroll, and nodded to himself. He knew what to do.

"I think I understand now. Thank you... father."

--

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--

Four hours later, the small team was met near Konoha's gates by a team of dispatched medic-nin to bring them in, and were rushed to the hospital to be given proper treatment. Naruto, despite strongly protesting he was fine, was given a thorough inspection for injuries he might've missed. Forced to conclude he was alright (to say nothing of annoying) the nurses discharged him. He was standing in the lobby when the doors burst open.

Hiashi strolled into the hospital with a hurried pace and an anxious expression, his white Hyuuga robes billowing behind him as he moved swiftly down the hallway, deftly dipping past patients and attending medic-nin. Hinata and Hanabi, as well as two Hyuuga Elders, followed behind him. Naruto quickly joined them, anxious to tell them all of what happened, but Hiashi barely paid him a backward glance, and Naruto decided to wait so he wouldn't have to repeat it later. Hiashi didn't even stop until he'd reached the room in question and slammed open the door in his haste.

"Neji…!"

Neji lay on the hospital bed nearest the door, propped up on his pillow and giving a dip of his head to the Head of the Hyuuga Clan… unable to manage a full bow with his abdomen so heavily bandaged. Tenten rested in the bed beside his in the middle of the room, her arm still in a sling, though now properly bandaged and set so the bone would heal properly. It turned out it had just been a fracture, not a full-blown breaking as she'd initially feared. She'd be out in a few days. Neji maybe a week more.

Hyuuga Hiashi breathed a sigh of welcome relief, resting one hand against the frame of the door to support himself. Then, aware of his dignity and position as head of the Clan, he straightened his posture and attempted to look indifferent to the fate of his young nephew and his teammate. Nonetheless, a smile was present on his face. Similar smiles lit up Hanabi and Hinata's face as they saw their cousin alive and well, and only the Hyuuga Elders continued to look dour.

"I see you survived," said Hiashi diplomatically.

Neji nodded. "Our mission was a partial success, Hiashi-sama. But we lost the Uchiha's Crescent. I apologize for my failure."

"Damn the sword to Hell," hissed Katsuro, pushing his way forward. Hiashi sternly flung out an arm to block his progress. "What about the Scroll? Do you have the Scroll of Sealing?"

Neji's expression darkened as he turned to face the Elder, who seemed to embody at that moment all he hated about his own clan. Greedy, self-centered, concerned only for preserving a genetic deformity rather than the family who held it.

His gaze softened however, as past him, he saw Hinata and Hanabi, his cousins. Those who embodied everything else. Courage, flexibility, inner strength, compassion, and family loyalty.

Delibertly ignoring the Elder, turning to face and speak to Hiashi alone, Neji spoke clearly and concisely. "The Scroll is safe, Hiashi-sama," and lifted up his pack, laying it on the bed before him and unfolding it. The Scroll of Sealing lay there amidst the shattered remains of Hyuuga's Edge. "I fear, however, Hyuuga's Edge broke in the ensuing fight."

Hiashi's mouth drew into a thin line of disappointment, but it quickly faded. "It was a relic of our past," he stated at last. "Our concern should be for the future." Neji nodded, in full agreement with this. He handed the Scroll to Hiashi, who accepted it with the grace of a caring uncle, not a stern head of the Clan.

"I think, perhaps," said Hiashi thoughtfully. "That the future of Hyuuga is looking very bright indeed."

Neji smiled at that, then grimaced as his wound acted up. Picking up on this, Hiashi quickly ordered everyone out of the room to leave the members of team Gai to recuperate from their ordeal, pocketing the Scroll on his way out. Within moments, it was just Neji and Tenten. Down the hall, they could vaguely hear as Naruto described their mission to Hinata, and remarked on how he'd gotten caught up coming over to offer her dinner. Neji smiled. After today, likely Naruto would be the one invited over for dinner with the Hyuuga's.

"He's right you know," Tenten remarked in an off-handed manner. "You did a very brave thing, Neji."

"I did a very stupid thing," he replied, his tone equally light. "And maybe that's why it'll turn out to be a good thing." Something puzzled him though, and he said as much. "How were you able to remove the Edge from it's sheath? According to legend, only the Hyuuga bloodline could do that."

She shrugged lightly with her good shoulder. "Lucky?"

"Mmmm… or maybe the legend was wrong,"

Neji would ponder this thought much more in the future as time went on. If the legend had been inaccurate, why had Touketsu been unable to draw the sword, while Tenten had been? She wasn't Hyuuga... Clan records were immaculately kept, every single member of the family documented (and sealed, if necessary) for the good of the Clan. Neji had never seen Tenten's name anywhere near it, nor anyone from her family. Maybe the legend was only meant that a Hyuuga could -wield- the blade (which had certainly proved true) and drawing it had been a mistranslation over the ages.

"I guess I shouldn't complain…" he ultimately settled on. "You helped save our lives."

"Anytime."

Pale white eyes met warm brown, and for a moment, a connection was there. A connection beyond the comfortable friendship of good teammates. Something more. Something deeper.

The connection was shattered, however, along with the silence, as the curtains from the far end of the room slid aside, and a third occupant was revealed on the far bed.

"Oooh Neji! Tenten! It is soo good to see you again! I am most sorry I was unable to participate in your thrilling adventure! Surely, you fought with the passion of youth and soundedly defeated the thief! Please tell me of your trip!"

Neji and Tenten, as one, slapped a hand to their foreheads and fell back in their beds. They'd been roomed with Rock Lee! Both suddenly had the same thought as they lay their groaning in agony. No torture Morino Ibiki could devise could ever come close to being locked in a room with a hyperactive Rock Lee.

--

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**Author's Notes: **

So now we find out the masterminds behind it all. Akatsuki! Muwahaha.


End file.
